Lenticular imagery is an inexpensive alternative to photographic holograms. The images can be created by interlacing several views of a single image and then viewing the interlaced images through a lenticular lens. The lenticular image can give the perception of depth to the interlaced image. The lens, however, is generally flat and movement of the interlaced image is achieved by varying the viewing angle of the flat lens. Many aspects of lenticular imaging are disclosed in co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 08/762,315, the specification of which is incorporated by reference.
Attempts have been made to produce a three dimensional image which can be rotated to view the image from a different angle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,294 to Anderson discloses a method and apparatus for creating cylindrical three dimensional pictures. To produce the three dimensional images, a multiple imaging camera is positioned to take multiple, sequential images of a subject as the subject is rotated 360 degrees, creating a first sequential film strip depicting the subject from all angles of rotation. The images of the first film strip are then projected sequentially frame-by-frame through the lenticular lens and onto a second film strip surrounding an exposure cylinder as the cylinder is rotated 360 degrees. The exposure cylinder is enclosed within a housing having a vertical aperture for exposing the second film strip as the exposure cylinder is rotated within the housing. The aperture has a width equal to the subtended chord of the lobe angle of the lenticular lens. In another embodiment, the rotating subject is photographed with a conventional viewing camera modified by replacing the film holder with the housing and exposure cylinder mounted therein. A film strip is mounted onto the cylinder and surrounded by a lenticular lens. The vertical aperture is in alignment with the camera aperture for exposing the film through the lenticular lens. As the rotating subject is photographed, the exposure cylinder rotates within the housing at a rate of speed equal to the rate of rotation of the subject, thereby exposing the film strip through the lenticular lens as the exposure cylinder rotates past the aperture.
Once exposed through the lenticular lens, the film strip is processed and the resulting photograph mounted surrounding a viewing cylinder having the same circumference as the exposure cylinder or same width as the linearly exposed film strip. A lenticular lens surrounds the photograph to create an illusion of the subject being reduced in size and encased within the cylinder. In production, the lenticular lens and second film strip consist of a film strip separate from the lenticular lens, or a unitary strip having the lenticular lenses extending transversely across the width of the film strip on one side with the photo emulsion bonded to a second side of the film strip opposite the lenticular lenses. The unitary strip is unwound from a first film canister, and is rotated around the exposure cylinder for sequential exposure of the entire length of film to a continuously repeated series of 3 D images, and subsequently wound onto a second film canister where the film is stored until it is processed. Once the lenticular film strip has been processed, each repeated series photographed is cut into a separate length equal to the circumference of the exposure/viewing cylinder. Thus, many separate cylindrical three dimensional pictures may be produced continually from a length of the unitary lenticular film strip.
The Anderson method has the serious drawback of requiring the film to be exposed through a lenticular lens with the lens and film moving together in a fixed relation to a set or projected image which diminishes the quality of the resulting image. A need exists for a method to interlace the multiple angle views resulting in a sharper image. This method needs to allow for interlaced images to be customized for any lenticular geometry. Further, a computerized method would provide a wider variety of image sources and reproduction processes.